Ladies & Gentlemen, it's just about lunchtime here on the East Coast, let's take a look at the Tobu Railway
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On the other side of the Sumida River is Tokyo Skytree Station, site of the tallest building in Japan, the Skytreepic.twitter.com/ekoyRsr1RW
The Tokyo Skytree development complex is funded by Tobu, their major landmark in the city, and the station is appropriately beautifulpic.twitter.com/CAQ9Xgt5AQ
Oshiage Station sits underneath the Skytree complex--this is where the Hanzomon subway line begins its thru service onto the Tobu railwaypic.twitter.com/HrRUYFXdXO
A short branch line links Hikifune Station on the Tobu main line with Kameido Station, on the JR Sobu Linepic.twitter.com/iCIKqwgbci
On the opposite side of Tokyo, Tobu trains on the Tojo and Ogose lines terminate at Ikebukuro, the second busiest station on earthpic.twitter.com/JokfCibfwK
Tobu's standard commuter rolling stock always struck me as a bit old-fashioned compared to other companies in Tokyo...pic.twitter.com/29qkCcIJra
...at least until their new models started to go into use, beginning in 2006. The older ones are still commonly used as well.pic.twitter.com/DQ3WCN4OaL
Some of Tobu's express trains have been in use for decades--the first pic here, an 1800 series, was introduced in 1969pic.twitter.com/Y2XdJGd6nc
Tobu's signature train is the 100 series, called "Spacia," which runs express to Nikko and Kinugawapic.twitter.com/0FhXtcq4Kh
Launched in 1990, the 100 series was refurbished after the Skytree opened, with three color schemes now instead of onepic.twitter.com/QbZ005ttYR
Even more recently, two Spacia trains have been repainted gold and black and rebranded as "Nikko Moude Spacia"pic.twitter.com/Wa9bEkEoWM
The newest express service offered by Tobu is their Skytree Train, a panoramic train with wraparound windows for scenic tripspic.twitter.com/VIB3FxxWnp
Tobu's network stretches from the heart of Tokyo, through cities & suburbs, across the vast farmland of the Kanto Plain, into the mountainspic.twitter.com/Ye4gfQ52Ie
Several line branch off the main (Isesaki) line in rural Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures: this is the Sano Line...pic.twitter.com/1T3DsX6hmY
...and the Kiryu Line. The red express train here is called "Ryomo"pic.twitter.com/O0lSfWEesN
The Nikko Line, home of the Spacia, branches off the Isesaki Line at Tobu Dobutsu Koen (Tobu Zoo)pic.twitter.com/OhF8gXurDk
There are two spurs on the Nikko Line--the first, the Utsunomiya Line, is more commuter oriented...pic.twitter.com/9FkIYOJJ6a
...while the other, the Kinugawa Line, serves the resorts and hot springs along the Kinu River, far outside of Tokyopic.twitter.com/h6DQiepbDx
The Kinugawa Line technically ends at Shin-Fujiwara Station, but the tracks continue as the Yagan Railway's Aizu-Kinugawa Linepic.twitter.com/4vJ75loROQ
Tobu services continue onto the Yagan Railway as well...pic.twitter.com/tjUZZGhQKK
...the rough terrain calls for many bridges and tunnelspic.twitter.com/SS026yDnR0
Fall colors complement Tobu's orange and brown color schemepic.twitter.com/rna1lAqXe0
Tobu's services continue beyond the Yagan Railway onto the Aizu Railway, terminating at Aizu Tajima (2nd pic), over 3 hours from Tokyopic.twitter.com/bNETpSiJl7
Because this part of the Tobu network is very rural and popular with tourists, steam trains are occasionally operated herepic.twitter.com/95wPXy5Iex
We hope you enjoyed today's thread on the Tobu Railway! Thank you for choosing #TrainTwitterpic.twitter.com/JuDrQGSeEi
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